Recent Comments

Answer Tips

Pinger

31 March 2016

This somewhat scary image isn't a photoshop job, although some people wondered about it.

Novomyshastovskaya village, a local park, where holidays and memorable dates are celebrated. There is a monument to the mothers of the war, the defenders of the Fatherland, and the unknown soldier. And only by the characteristic gesture of this figure you can recognize the leader of the proletariat.The gesture, one with unnaturally twisted swollen hand. Without finger. The mustache and the beard vanished . The chin totally resembles a Neanderthal. And there is no text on the pedestal - whose monument it is?

There was a period of incredulity:

First, the pictures that appeared on the Internet, were called a fake. The very figure itself was called a monument of Neanderthal, Schwarzenegger, and even Botox Injections.

But it passed. Still, the history of the monument is patchy:

Lenin has got a new face and a hand long ago. The name of the person who has performed the restoration, was lost - everything was done on a voluntary basis, without contracts. The face of the monument began to crumble 6 years ago. It was removed from the balance of the local collective farm, and no one was monitoring its well being. The monument is still abandoned.

Good people of Novomyshastovskaya could have heeded the example of their Spanish brothers and sisters: the botched Jesus that brought fame, tourists and eventually well-being to a Spanish village should have been a beacon to guide them. But no, in this case pride wins over common sense:

The activists couldn't collect enough money for proper restoration. But the monument became so famous that local authorities promise to find an investor and to return to the monument its original face.

Meh... big mistake.

(*) Don't blame me. Both Google Translate and I came to the same result.

30 March 2016

This creepy old man still tries to show that the ideology that he and his dead mentors propagated is alive and well.

“No one should pretend the people of this noble and selfless country give up its glory and rights,” he wrote. “We are able to produce food and material wealth we need with the effort and intelligence of our people.”

Not that it is a great secret that the situation with food and material wealth in Cuba is akin to the health situation of The Beard himself, as you can see it. But still, it is not what takes the cake in this story. Here is what does:

White House press secretary Josh Earnest called Castro's op-ed “an indication that the trip had its intended effect" of pressuring the Cuban government to adopt economic and political reforms.

Syrian militias armed by different parts of the U.S. war machine have begun to fight each other on the plains between the besieged city of Aleppo and the Turkish border, highlighting how little control U.S. intelligence officers and military planners have over the groups they have financed and trained in the bitter 5-year-old civil war.The fighting has intensified over the past two months, as CIA-armed units and Pentagon-armed ones have repeatedly shot at each other as they have maneuvered through contested territory on the northern outskirts of Aleppo, U.S. officials and rebel leaders have confirmed.

29 March 2016

This is the first time you will see the whole rocket science malarky with its attendant space research sideshow debunked and destroyed so comprehensively and scientifically, with Arrested Development serving as a handy implement to deconstruct the entire bunkum.

Indeed, the freemason elites have had their 15 minutes of fame, but enough is enough. Time to bow to the superiority of an incisive mind, the one not shackled by fear, tradition and false beliefs.

It is worth to watch the whole 10 minutes, every frame is a revelation. But don't miss the key point (at about 3:00), where the anonymous author asks the crucial question:

28 March 2016

I confess to being totally ignorant about the subject. It is, most probably, my own fault, but I suspect that the people of Finland must share some of the guilt, not investing in PR of their doubtlessly fine product in this domain. I have even looked up Wiki, but, as you shall see, not much help there. Another sample I tried (one of the very few with English subtitles) somehow failed to impress. Whatever.

But this one (picked up on Facebook) is a real doozy:

If you ask me about the contents, not knowing Finnish and being ignorant of Finnish customs, I would decipher the above clip in the following way:

A man follows a woman too close, creating a danger of a slipping accident in all that snow and ice.

The woman turns to the man and high-fives him with one hand. However, probably due to his fear of slipping and falling down, the man fails to respond as expected.

Then the woman turns to the man and high-fives him with both hands. The man fails to respond as expected again.

The woman, seeing as how the man is unstable on his feet, sends him her handbag, hoping he will hold to it for safety. The man fails to catch it again and again.

And I was totally wrong in this interpretation of events, because the true one is much funnier!Here is a part of it:

The Finnish Police of Oulu have released a training video for women called "Say No!". Possession of Pepper spray for women is, like in Sweden where you face up to 6 months in prison, illegal. Any citizen carrying any sort of efficient self defense faces huge fines. The government insists that disarming law abiding Finnish citizens will stop crime - in fact the opposite result has caused devastating effects with crime rate skyrocketing as foreign criminals aren't particularly concerned with complying with weapon laws. Criminals are armed to the teeth, helpless single women will face prison over carrying pepper spray. In a recent case, a 17 year old girl in Denmark has been sentenced to a fine because she hurt the attacker with illegal pepper spray while he was trying to brutalize and rape her.

26 March 2016

Emory University in Atlanta is under siege at this hour from a chalk-wielding Donald Trump supporter who caused a massive outbreak of micro-aggressions among frightened students.Terrified collegians are hunkered down in their safe spaces – traumatized by whoever wrote “Trump 2016” and “Accept the Inevitable: Trump 2016” on campus sidewalks.

The sleuths of Emory haven't reported to the mother ship yet, so it is not known whether the bloodthirsty perpetrator of this aggressive obscenity came from outside the safe enclave of higher learning or it was done by a cowardly internal wolf hiding under the sheep's clothing, which option is even more terrifying.

“I’m supposed to feel comfortable and safe [here],” one student said. “But this man is being supported by students on our campus and our administration shows that they, by their silence, support it as well … I don’t deserve to feel afraid at my school,” she added.

Absolutely. How can a student feel safe when going to sleep in his dorm, his home away from home, when the big bad T-Rump is skulking around the campus, his huge maw dripping gore and blood of the innocent helpless freshmen or even - the horror of it - some undergraduates! It makes me want to cry. But the students do it much better:

Well, what can I add to that? I usually shun sources with names that start with "Truth", but this lady here got it all very well. Enjoy:

Without a smidgen of understanding in British internal politics, I was quite shocked reading this:

Jeremy Corbyn's allies* have drawn up a list showing which MPs are most and least loyal to the Labour leadership, according to a document leaked to The Times.The spreadsheet divides Labour's 230 MPs into five categories, ranging from "Core", the 19 in Corbyn's inner circle, to "Hostile", made up of 36 politicians presumably deemed least likely to support the leadership.

I bet the younger generation of British public doesn't respond like I at all, but to me the mere idea of sorting one's political allies by loyalty smells very strongly of the old times Kremlin sulphur. I can see in my mind a certain Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili aka Koba, strolling along the rug of his office, smoking his pipe, held in his lame hand, thoughtfully studying the list of his Politburo colleagues and sorting them out for the next round of purges.

We know how it usually ended then. We also know how it started.

Or do we?

(*) Of course, the denial came quick:

A spokesman for Corbyn said of the document: "It doesn't come from this office and we have no knowledge of it."

23 March 2016

By now you know that the above means only one thing: the Elders' HQ issued a special permission to divulge some information hitherto unavailable to the media. It is called "scoop" in some circles.

As you might know, the brave warriors of Hamas are not a little discombobulated lately by the chain of inexplicable tunnel collapses and are scared to enter them:

Despite reports attributing the collapses to heavy rains, many Hamas members reportedly believe that Israel is causing the collapses. Hamas terrorists have seen Israel engaging in countermeasures against the terror tunnels. One Hamas member speculated that Israel has liquid explosives that can cause the tunnels to collapse, while another believed that Israel can cause localized earthquakes.

The media, of course, started its own circus of speculations, with headlines like these:

I don't know about you, but all I can see in this incomprehensible picture is something like a part of a grand piano and a row of huge green suppositories, accompanied by a row of huge green roller suitcases. Oh well.

Rabbi Shriki, deeply concerned about the growing threat to southern Israel, decided to call for divine intervention. About six weeks ago he began praying at the border fence, a dangerous area, asking God to help Israel. To his students, it is clear that Rabbi Shriki’s prayers have been answered.

The question was put directly to Maj.-Gen. Yoav Mordechai...:Did the IDF have a hand in collapsing these tunnels, which pose a threat to Israel’s citizens?“God knows,” the general replied.

Of course I am not in a position to argue with God's will (who is?), but it is known that the deity helps those who help themselves. And I am glad to tell you (with the above mentioned permission, of course) that this time it is not our rocket scientists and their mechanical contraptions that found a countermeasure to the digging itch that consumes our cousins in Hamas. It is the masters of creative transfiguration in another domain - that of biology. The ones who brought to the amazed world the Mossad* spy birds, the Mossad bloodthirsty sharks, the Mossad fighting dolphins, the Mossad giant piranha with its raging hunger for underwater cables, military vessels' hulls etc.

Ladies and gentlemen, behold the latest and fiercest: the Mossad Giant Molerat (MGM):

A remark on the above: the human figure on top of MGM was photoshopped on the original frame, for the viewer to get the sense of MGM's size.

The beast, a result of genetic modification combined with advanced secret inter-breeding techniques that use animal psychology and amorous misdirection via mind control rays, is equipped with bulletproof self-greasing hide that allows it to move with speed underground and easily overcome any (futile) attempt of resistance, in extremely rare cases such resistance might be offered. So far no such cases were registered.

And another important nowadays detail: the MGM is vegan, in accordance with the environment protection guidelines and doesn't consume the Hamas diggers it happens to encounter and squash.

(*) Frankly the addition of "Mossad" to the titles of the various zoo-warriors is no more than another misdirection. While the Mossad folks are useful and eager group, they are still mere understudies, vying for available junior positions in the Elders outfit, and they are aware of their true station.

22 March 2016

Disclaimer 1: The author of this post is not an avid reader of Jerusalem Post. For reasons not to be discussed here. Sufficient to say that many of Seth J. Frantzman's doubtlessly excellent articles escaped the author's attention.

Disclaimer 2: The author, A Jew of Soviet extraction, lives in Israel for about 36 years. In addition to mainly Ashkenazi blood and blue(ish) eyes, he carries Sephardic genes. His local family with years quietly absorbed Iraqi, Polish, Yemenite (and possibly other) Jews, not to mention a few Russians.

Disclaimer 3: All of the above doesn't make the author an expert on the subject matter.

A denizen of a Facebook group posted a link to an article by Seth J. Frantzman, The Jerusalem Post’s op-ed editor, a man of many outstanding qualities and achievements, frequently referred to and quoted by pro-Israeli folks. The article in question is titled 10 THINGS I WISH I’D ALSO KNOWN BEFORE MOVING TO ISRAEL (apologies for the upper case, it is original). As you will see, the article contains some harsh criticism of our uncouth ways, some of the criticism on target, some wildly off. Since I usually support any objective criticism of our country, I wouldn't even think about responding to that piece, no matter how incendiary. However, the level of vehemence the article displays makes me suspect that Seth (may I call you Seth, Seth?) is too bitter to stay with us for long and is considering to join the 80% of his friends he mentioned, the ones who left Israel after a time. Well, one thing makes me consistently happy: the fact that we are not a closed prison-like society and allow all who can't, for reasons of their own, take the sometimes burdensome reality of life here, to leave. Otherwise... no, the alternative doesn't bear considering - some of us are too painfully familiar with it.

What made me smile at Seth and his vigorous indignation was another article, BOKER TOV RACISM: THE INGRAINED STEREOTYPES OF ISRAELI ELITE SOCIETY (apologies for the upper case again, and BOKER TOV means "Good morning"). In this article Seth goes off specifically at the Israeli racism issue, in his inimitably spectacular manner. Here is the passage that caused me that smile:

On the popular Israel channel 10 program ‘London and Kirschenbaum’, the well known host Yaron London, who is known as an elder statesman of Israeli journalism, went on a rant about “Ashkenazim”. Discussing the entrance of former Israel Prime Minister Ehud Olmert into prison, he wondered aloud about how it would be for an “Ashkenazi” Israeli to be in prison. Reference former bank chairman Danny Dankner, who also went to prison and is apparently “Ashkenazi,” he asked “what will a conversation be like between him and other prisoners, with Ahmed or Buzaglo.”

Ahmed is, I guess, self-explanatory, but what caused me a start was Buzaglo. Seth adds:

Referencing “Ahmed” or “Buzaglo” he used names associated with Arabs or “Mizrahi”, non-European, Jews to stereotype the prison population and prison guards of Israel.

Oy vey - was my immediate reaction. Could it be that Seth, a distinguished journalist, lecturer etc. is so ignorant of the history of the name "Buzaglo" and its connotations? For you, my reader - I was lucky to find a relevant reference in the English Wiki, otherwise it would have been the pain of translation for me. But here it is:

The Buzaglo test is a phrase coined in Israeli law which subsequently developed into an idiom in Israel.In 1976, the Attorney General of Israel at the time, Aharon Barak, decided to begin a criminal investigation against Asher Yadlin in relation to the Yadlin affair. Yadlin, an important figure in the dominant Mapai party who was under consideration for the position of Governor of the Bank of Israel, was suspected of theft and receiving bribes. Yadlin asked to be questioned by the police in his office, but Barak refused on the grounds that the law should treat all equally, without regards to their social standing. Yadlin was questioned in a police facility, and was later convicted and sentenced to five years imprisonment.Barak's decision was significant at the time due to the prolonged dominance of the Mapai party in Israeli politics and society. Referring to the decision, Barak coined the phrase "the law for Yadlin is the same as the law for Buzaglo" (Din Yadlin – KeDin Buzaglo). The phrase was intended to mean that both the strong and the weak in society were subject to the law. Yadlin represented the predominantly Ashkenazi political elite of Israel, whereas Buzaglo represented the Mizrahi population, which at the time were considerably poorer and weaker.Although it was originally used in the context of the rule of law and specific corruption charges, the Buzaglo test has since become a litmus test for a range of inter-ethnic issues in Israel.

I was following Yaron London, a highly respected journalist and a person of unmatched integrity for many years. I would swear in a court of law that it is totally inconceivable that a) Yaron London doesn't know about the Buzaglo Test and b) that Yaron London is in any way a racist. And so will do, I bet, many other people.

But this is not exactly the point. The point is that, while at the time of the Buzaglo Test being coined, the name Buzaglo indeed represented the trodden down Mizrahi population, it doesn't anymore. Today it is a general term for a simple man on the street, somebody unprotected by fame, money or political power. And most Israelis are well aware of the term itself and of the generic use of that name.

Not so, apparently, for our Seth. Who really needs to beef up on some subtleties of Israeli life and, probably, on some Hebrew idioms.

To close this, already too long, post: to claim that this here country is free of racism is to lie. To claim that this country is more racist than any other is stupid and, being put on paper, even libelous. And if you really want to compare the thinly covered by political correctness American racism or publicly denied but still institutional Soviet/Russian version of racism - oh well, I guess I could go on for a loooong time, being quite familiar with both.

19 March 2016

It is with great reluctance that I write this post, defending the man I so much like to criticise. Oh well, one has to change one's tack from time to time, I guess. Anyway, it is about the brouhaha in the local media around Bibi's tweet where he published his pay stub.

A few words of explanation for the curious foreigners. While Bibi's monthly salary before tax may sound considerable (NIS 48,815, roughly $12,000 - a salary of, say, a senior manager in local high-tech company), what is left after taxes and other deductions (NIS 17,645) isn't all that much. Far, very far below the income of many happy clappy bank executives, CEOs and other highfalutin employees in the local private sector.

And the reason I post this at all? Yes, it is a radio interview given by a lady I prefer not to name (this way I don't have to remember her name), who is what is called these days a "socialite" - meaning a person of no detectable occupation, a great PR value and unshakeable opinion on everything. In this case coupled with a poisonous tongue and a voice of a buzzsaw.

The lady went after Bibi's income like a bike of hornets after a... after Bibi. The quantity of venom she spent on the subject of Bibi getting everything for free was beyond reasonable and below bad taste. It was deeply unfair and deeply stupid. Whatever you say (and I do say) about Bibi's faults as a leader, as a manager and as a person, he is holding an unenviable job, one which most sane citizens prefer to be held by anyone but them. Even a triple amount of what Bibi receives for that yoke would have been not enough, if you ask me. So there.

Well, and if you want something bad to be said about Bibi, here it is: that pay stub trick is something Bibi has already performed, more than once. He is, most probably, calculating the time it takes the wave of adoration, caused by the previous publication of the pay stub, to recede and... Anyway, enough is enough.

15 March 2016

Anyone who doesn't look at modern medicine with sense of wonder, liberally mixed with trepidation, could skip this post altogether. However, the goings-on in some corners of this noble activity area should be of interest to many, I would suggest. Since you never know...

14 March 2016

Our kids are usually a mixed bag, as far as our own emotional balance is concerned. These objects of our unconditional love tend to bring us as much worry and headache as joy, intermittently. And, strange as it may seem, our kids-related anxiety level only grows with years, not abating till our last breath. When the kids leave us to go to their choice of career or education, our active role as parents is somewhat curbed usually, but not our anxiety, which tends to skyrocket.

Of course, the university/college years are expected to be peppered by their youthful shenanigans. And who will not smile at something like this:

A US university has offered counselling to “injured and affected” students who may have been offended by classmates wearing small sombrero hats at a tequila-themed birthday party.

Juvenile, pathetic but still could be considered funny somewhat. It is a bit more difficult to smile at the sad story of two professors that were forced to resign after an attempt to uphold freedom of expression in Yale:

A Yale professor who argued for students’ right to wear culturally insensitive Halloween costumes and triggered outcry on campus has announced her intentions to resign from teaching at the university.

But you know, this could be written off to the youthful zeal and cultural sensitivity. The high schools definitely do a great job of instilling political correctness in our kids.

It is rather more difficult to write off the riots similar to the University of Missouri one. When a raging crowd, incensed by some real or imaginary racial slight (of course, the swastika, scrawled in feces, that was found in a dorm bathroom, has hardly figured in the riot for some reason) and social injustice, has as its main demand removal of the university president, whom it's hard to blame for the said slights and injustice, it becomes really difficult to sympathise with the kids. Especially, when one of the leading figures in the protests (Jonathan Butler) appears to be a son of a very wealthy family.

And thus is escalates, with students becoming de facto rulers in the institutions of high learning. You can argue forever whether it is the egg that came first or the chicken, but you must agree that the situation when the egg decides to teach the chicken is an alarming one. And the eggs, judging by the goings-on at some campuses, pretty malformed to boot, are definitely in the mood to teach.

And then it comes to the boil, in this theater of absurd that is called modern university:

Students at Western Washington University have reached a turning point in their campus’s hxstory. (For one thing, they’re now spelling it with an X—more on that later.) Activists are demanding the creation of a new college dedicated to social justice activism, a student committee to police offensive speech, and culturally segregated living arrangements at the school, which is in Bellingham, up in the very northwest corner of the state.

Read the whole article, dear parents, and weep: this is what you have unleashed on the academic world. These empty-headed embryos of an adult human being know all about their entitlements, about some vague ideals of social justice, about the power of the rabble-rousing mob and how to use it to their advantage. What you forgot to tell them when waving them off on their way to the university is about humility, about the need to study at the feet of their betters, about a long way from a human embryo to an informed and reasonable human being. So forgive them, because it is mainly your fault that you didn't instill in them some basic values before letting them go.

And the "conclusion" of the article is just the same as in my combo above:

To the Israeli ear that sounds far-fetched, even an illegitimate question. But let’s ask: Have soldiers and policemen never lied to justify the unjustified arrest or shooting or killing of Palestinians? Israelis find it hard to believe that our soldiers and commanders could lie, until it’s proven otherwise by security cameras or still pictures of which the soldiers weren’t aware.

Welcome to the post-journalism era of the freest progressive-est newspaper in our neck of the woods.

In this fast-moving mystery/thriller, ... seek ancient documents hidden since the beginning of recorded time--documents that could forever change the course of human history. By using secret CIA parapsychology techniques for reincarnation based past life regression, they finally locate this treasure trove of ancient knowledge. But this is not before a harrowing journey that takes them around the world. Now is the time to reveal the secrets, but a dangerous and unknown force is trying to stop their efforts. This thought-provoking and suspenseful reincarnation thriller may make you think about the world and events in a new and perhaps disturbing way.

Any book that starts with ancient documents and adds: secret CIA parapsychology techniques, reincarnation, perilous journeys and a malicious unknown force... oh well.

Oh, and the way I think about most things is already disturbing, so there.

11 March 2016

Yariv Oppenheimer, General Director of Peace Now movement, is a man of strong convictions and strong opinions. His recent opportunity to go public with a strong opinion was re the two stabbing sprees by Palestinian martyrs-to-be - one in Jaffa, where a frenzied attack ended with one American visitor dead and ten other people (two Arabs included) wounded. The second attack, in Petah Tikva, was somewhat dryly summarized here:

An Israeli man who was stabbed multiple times Tuesday afternoon in a terror attack in Petah Tikva managed to remove the knife from his neck and use it to stab and neutralize his attacker, aided by the store owner, police said.

What can I add to this? Only that we are used to different attitudes to such cases - from unbridled happy ululation from some Palestinian circles to the cautious "we don't condone but we understand..." from some members of the progressive left. Yariv Oppenheimer added a new wrinkle to the case of Yonatan Azarihab (the man who killed the terrorist in Petah Tikva):

Translated, it says: "Both in Petah Tikva and in Jaffo, recorded clips show how neutralization becomes an execution without trial. In the current atmosphere no media outfit will dare to report and to deal with the subject".

Being a cautious fellow, one who prefers to let the emotions subside and to deal with any subject as cool headed as possible, I have waited a bit. Now I could proceed.

Mr Oppenheimer, you wanted to deal with the subject, so let's deal with it:

10 March 2016

Since the days of the famous linguistic controversy about the undying words of Mahmoud Ahmadinejd aka Mahmoud the Mad and the brilliant interpretation of the "wiped off the map" by prof Cole, the issue has somewhat lost its allure. And now, Iranian military, undoubtedly seriously moderated by the latest elections (if prof Cole and his partners in disinformation are to be believed), decided to bring an end to the controversy.

Fars News posts photo of launched missile with Hebrew inscription: "Israel must be wiped off the face of the earth."

But, as they say, different strokes for different blokes. And if Ayatollahs and their warriors prefer to masturbate using missiles, one couldn't prevent a learned scientist from masturbating with words.

05 March 2016

For a second day, North Korea appeared to be flexing its military muscles in the wake of a United Nations vote meant to cripple the nation's nuclear program.North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said the country's "nuclear warheads need to be ready for use at any time," the North Korean state news agency KCNA reported Friday.

04 March 2016

There it is again, after a few thousands other books and a lot of time. Many authors took a shot at time travel, Bradbury himself included. But, in fact, this one short story includes everything you need to know about time travel. Oh, and about some damn fine writing, too.

03 March 2016

When not preoccupied by inventing vulgar headlines, the busy bees of CNN seem to make inroads in one of the more painful aspects of our existence, namely non-existence of clean sources of energy. This time they have revolutionized an already revolutionary (according to them) new design of a blimp, developed by Lockheed Martin. Here is the punch line:

The Hybrid Airship is a helium-powered craft that can cover thousands of kilometers in a single journey, with a top speed of 60 knots.

Just to think that until now no one, Lockheed Martin's boffins included, had thought to use helium as fuel! I bet that even helium itself hadn't a slightest idea of its ability.

I would also add another, less novel idea: why don't CNN anchors use helium for major announcements like that revolutionary one. It will sound much better, judge by this example:

And I promised more: here is another revolutionary discovery, about hitherto unknown quirks of modern geography:

I bet they are. After all, Aussies are so used to privacy, and now they have to have borders with all kinds...

The sportscaster Erin Andrews tearfully told a court Monday that when she found out a stalker had posted nude video online, she called her father and frantically screamed, "Dad, I'm naked all over the Internet."